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Friday, April 19, 2013

Do you ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes of a photo shoot for a cookbook?

I got to find out myself this past weekend
when I was fortunate enough to participate in the shoot for Chris
Lilly's newest cookbook.

Chris is a
restauranteur and multiple time BBQ World Champion. Chris also wrote one of my favorite cook books, BigBob Gibson's BBQ Book. Even if you don't BBQ and/or grill much, you probably
still know him from his numerous television appearances on BBQ shows (Best
In Smoke, Kingsford Invitational, BBQ Pitmasters, etc).

I
can't go into detail about recipes or show any plated shots. Per a
confidentiality agreement, if I divulge any sensitive information prior
to the book's release, Mr. Lilly will confiscate our Big Green Eggs and
include a declaration in his new book that I boil my ribs, use a crock
pot for my pulled pork, and am a closet vegetarian.

That being said, here are the bullet points

Chris assembled an amazing production team. I thought my photography and food
styling was getting “good” but after seeing them work, I realize
I have only gotten “better” and have a ways to go. It was
humbling and inspiring!

NOTHING is by accident or chance, every detail is planned, developed
and photographed, down to how a piece of slaw drapes across a taco.

When accidents DO happen (despite previous statement), there is always a plan B, C, and D.

It takes a lot of work, smoke, and mirrors to make things look easy, natural and not posed.

We were always working on 2-3 recipes in varying stages at the same time.

I lost track of how much Kingsford charcoal we used, but it was a lot and all we used.

Chris has a great support system of family and friends that were johnny on the spot for anything needed.

Chris grilling a tuna dish.

The brown butter sauce smelled "to die for" on this trout dish.

This grill is Chris' Komodo cooker, a gorgeous and well designed kamado like my Eggs.

Ken making his paella on the grill.

Chris checking on some rednecked panini (not the real name).

For
two days, I helped out any way I could. We used five grills so I was
getting the next one fired up and set up in advance for Chris. I helped
Ken Hess prep anything he needed from veggies to shrimp. I cooked
garnishes and mixed marinades/rubs as needed. Hold a scrim up, find
needed tools, and basically anything they needed an extra hand for, I
did.

During downtime, I carefully watched Ben Fink,
Jeff Cavanaugh, and Pam Lolley work their
voodoo on food styling and photography. I took mental notes of what
they did, especially the little things because everything was done with
purpose. I learned a lot but here are my takeaways:

Food styling - use more props but do so in layers, vertically
and horizontally. Focus on how props complement or contrast. Use the
props to tell the story. Discover new settings around the house, quit
using the same location.

Photography - start using a card shot and then apply those
white balance settings to the actual shot. Learn to shoot tethered to a
laptop with Lightroom. Keep practicing. Get a camera set up like Ben's
the next time I have an extra $20 grand or so laying around.

I owe a ton of gratitude to Chris for allowing me to be a small
part of their team for a few days. What I can tell you about the
recipes is that they were all impressive
and several were "the best I've had in years". This cookbook is going
to be as good as his first book. You will want a copy when it comes out
next year, I promise you that.

Okay, back to the grill. Alexis and I came up with this marinade standing in the produce department.

The
base of the marinade is roasted habanero chiles for heat and juice from
cara cara oranges to complement the citrus notes of habanero and
corriander. Cara cara oranges are very sweet. You can substitute blood
oranges if you can't find cara cara oranges. The homemade, fire
roasted salsa verde and ranch make a smoky difference but I guess you
could use the jarred stuff if you HAD to.

Whisk
together marinade ingredients. Place chicken cutlets in a Glad zip top
bag, cover with marinade, seal and refrigerate for 4 hours.

Preheat
a charcoal grill to high. Remove cutlets from marinade. Season with
salt and pepper to taste and grill until the internal temperature
reaches 160f, about 2-4 minutes per side (depending on the thickness of
your cutlets). Remove and slice into thin strips.

On each wrap,
place 1 lettuce leaf, thin sliced tomato, one fourth of the chicken,
and cheese. Top with a heaping tablespoon of the salsa verde and a
tablespoon of the chile ranch dressing. Roll up burrito style (roll
bottom third up, covering the filling, then tuck in the sides, and then
continue rolling up into a cylinder).

Slice each wrap in half and serve with extra ranch and salsa verde as desired.

TIP: Habaneros are small and a pain to char stove top
because you can set them on a gas burner like you can a larger bell or
poblano chile. A grilling basket over the burner makes it easy.

The salsa verde I do is roughly 1.5 pounds peeled tomatillo, 2 jalapenos, 1/2 white onion, 2 green onion, 1 habanero and 3 cloves garlic. Char it all for about 5 minutes, turning until all sides black. De-seed and peel the chiles. Chop it all up in a blender, season with salt, cumin, and pepper and then simmer until thickened.

That brown butter sauce on the trout sounds amazing. And what a great opportunity to participate in this shoot. Very cool. I'm interested in the fire roasted ranch dipping sauce. I've looked through the post a couple of times, but without reading every single word when I get to the recipe part, I'm not seeing how to make it.

So basically, if I read your post right, you are now a Sous Chef to the Stars!? How cool is that! Which can only mean one thing, YOU are going to need a sous chef soon! Please let me ride your apron strings when the time comes! I know nothing about everything, but I'm really, really good at eating! That should count for something! Love this recipe, will make it tonight for dinner.

Wow what an amazing experience to be able to see the behind-the-scenes of photography and food styling from a pro, even though I look at you as a photography pro too! His grill looks so cool. Your wraps look magnificent, I'm craving that fire roasted chile ranch dressing. And that marinade sounds pretty delish too. Definitely let us know when the cookbook is coming out!!

What an outstanding opportunity. I am green with envy. The threat that "Mr. Lilly will confiscate our Big Green Eggs and include a declaration in his new book that I boil my ribs, use a crock pot for my pulled pork, and am a closet vegetarian." would definitely make me keep my trap shut. Looks like your photos are already better, I don't know how I can ever keep up. Love the wrap recipe and the inclusion of the Shiner in that one picture. Obviously, you recognize good beer. Try some Lone Star Bock if you ever see it.

I love your pictures and recipes. I'd like to inform you of a great new website www.foodieportal.com. I would like to invite you to come and join us and share your wonderful pictures with us. We are simply foodies and we are not photography snobs, so picture perfection is not important, all we care about is delicious food.

Your food photos are amazing. You can share your mouth watering photos with us at foodienewz.com. foodienewz.com is a new food sharing site and we actually try our best to promote your food photos. At foodienewz.com all your food photos will be published without any editorial review so I really hope you come and join us.